Dooku's Betrayal
by Duchess Bathilda Hunnywagon
Summary: After being replaced with the monstrous General Grievous, Asajj Ventress plans to get revenge on her former master, Count Dooku.
1. Chapter 1 The Droid General

**Dooku's Betrayal**

Part 1- The droid general

Count Dooku walked down the long metallic corridors of the Separatist base in Utapau with a certain amount of sophistication in his step. He wore his usual black Sith attire complete with his flowing brown cloak. His finely polished black boots tapped off the ground with a loud metal clank. He arrived at the grey door leading to the council chambers. Two Pau'an guards stood at either side.  
"My lord!" one said with a gracious bow. Dooku stepped forward and the door opened, he entered the circular room which over looked the newly created arena of Utapau. Two Pau'an warriors and a Gamorrean were fighting against a large Reek for the amusement of the Separatist council who were seated around the enormous round table. The lean figure of Asajj Ventress stood away from everyone else, cloaked in shadow. Dooku sat on the throne in the centre of the chairs around the table.  
"I am glad you could all attend" Dooku said to the council with a pleasant smile.  
"Why have you brought us here?" exclaimed the hunched cowardly Viceroy Gunray of the trade federation. "Gathering us all together in one place like this! It could mean death for us all!"  
"Stop being paranoid!" Exclaimed Poggle the Lesser in his native Geonosian tongue. "Dooku, tell us why we've been summoned here"  
"Patience my friends, all in due time" Dooku assured him. "But what of your attempt to capture Senator Amidala Viceroy?" Gunray looked to his associate and fellow Neimoidian Rune Haako. Haako said nothing for a moment then finally his mouth opened.  
"The Jedi were watching over her unfortunately. We could not get to her! They were, too strong" Rune Haako tried to hide from Dooku's sight. Dooku let out a humourless laugh.  
"The Jedi" he said to them. "That is why I have called this meeting" the Separatists began to wonder what he was referring to, even Ventress was beginning to show interest. "For too long these 'peace keepers' have interfered in our affairs. It is time for us to strike back!"  
"But how?" asked Gunray.  
"With this!" Dooku said as the door to the chamber opened. Several members of the council gasped as the droid general entered. His robotic body was as white as naked bone; he walked slightly hunched over and yet was still taller than Dooku. His face looked like a terrifying mask worn by warriors out in the farthest reaches of the galaxy. His eyes were piercing and looked reptilian. "I would like to introduce. General Grievous!" the droid general bowed. "He will be leading our armies from now on!"  
"Why?" asked Poggle the Lesser.  
"Because I have trained him personally, he can defeat any menace be it Jedi or clone!"  
"What about me?" asked Ventress angrily. Dooku looked at her for a moment.  
"You my dear, are no longer useful to us" he raised his hand and Ventress was in the air.  
"Release me! You traitor!" she growled. Dooku waved his hand and she fell into the arena bellow. Everyone else down there was already dead.  
"Destroy her!" Dooku ordered.  
"With pleasure!" Grievous replied. He approached the edge which went down to the arena and jumped down.  
"What are you doing?" Gunray asked. "This is a foolish idea!"  
"Lord Sidious ordered me to execute Ventress; it is an excellent opportunity to test Grievous' skills!"

Ventress drew her two lightsabers. The metallic monstrosity crashed down in front of her. From around his waist he also drew two sabers. They ignited their sabers and the fight began. Ventress' duel red sabers clashed with Grievous' blue and green ones, sending multicoloured sparks into the air. He tried to kick her with one of his gray claw like feet but she jumped out of the way, however a claw caught on her long skirt and she tumbled to the ground. Dropping her sabers. The skirt was ripped in the process.  
"Not your proudest moment!" the droid laughed. He approached Ventress with his sabers at his sides. Ventress tried knocking him back with the force but he curled up his claws, keeping him fixed in his position. Ventress stood up, she held out her hands and her sabers returned to her. She ignited them again and pointed the blades at Grievous. He slashed at her and she quickly blocked the on coming attack. The droid was much stronger than he appeared. She was losing her grip on her lightsabers as the two of them stood there, their sabers conjoined.  
"Your sabers will make a fine edition to my collection!" Grievous let out another laugh and with a seemingly third hand he punched Ventress in the stomach, she dropped one of her lightsabers and he caught it. She stumbled back and saw that the droid's large arms had split into four thin arms. He now possessed three weapons while she only had one.  
"What a cowardly tactic!" Ventress said, still winded from the droid's punch.  
"I aim for victory! And I will do anything to achieve it!" Grievous told her.  
"No wonder Dooku made you his puppet!"  
"Enough talk!" Grievous yelled, he ran at her, Ventress ducked, narrowly avoiding decapitation. She moved quickly and without thinking, resulting in her stabbing Grievous in the stomach (if he had one).  
"Ah!" he said, not showing any real emotion. Ventress jumped back and then charged at Grievous. She leaped on his chest and then bounced off it making the droid stumble, she managed to grab his green saber as she did this she jumped into the air and now she was soaring in the air towards her former master and his council of cowardice. Dooku held up his hand and an orange ray shield appeared in front of him. Ventress had to fall back down into the arena. Grievous stood behind her, he tried to impale her on her own saber but she manoeuvred herself out of the way. He began throwing punches from his two free hands. A few collided with her face, knocking her into the wall. She knew he would not be expecting a force push attack so she raised her hand and knocked him back onto his feet. She looked at the gate which allowed the other gladiators to enter and leave the arena. She ran towards it.  
"Stop her!" boomed Gunray's voice on an intercom. Grievous began to run at her, but she threw his saber at him and managed to slice off one of his robotic legs. He toppled onto the ground, giving Ventress time to raise the gate with her force abilities.

She escaped the Separatist base and got to the hanger, there was a Neimoidian standing by a small ship.  
"Madam Ventress" he said with a gracious bow. "I am afraid you cannot go any further!" at that moment several battle droids appeared around her. She was outnumbered but not outmatched. She used the force to knock back the droids, destroying most of them. She gripped the Neimoidian by the neck.  
"Tell Dooku I will be back! This is not done!" the frightened Neimoidian could see the fury burning in her grey eyes. She tossed him aside and climbed into the ship and took off. She was beaten, but she was coming back. And she will be bringing some friends. Dooku will perish for his betrayal…


	2. Chapter 2 The Proposition

Part 2- The Proposition

She did not know where she was going. All she knew was that she needed help, and a plan. She barely escaped Utapau alive thanks to Dooku's new toy. Plus she had lost one of her prized lightsabers. The ship was low on fuel and she needed to land. She noticed that Tatooine was near by. This would be the perfect place to recruit her troops as Tatooine was crawling with mercenaries and bounty hunters willing to assist for the right price.

She landed down on the desert planet, sold her ship to a group of Jawas and entered a local cantina. It was much larger than most of the cantinas she had been inside in the past. The air was filled with a layer of smoke and the sounds of conversation and laughter as well as the strange Tatooine music. Ventress could make out several dancers most of them were Twi'lek, this was not a surprise, Ventress often thought that Ryloth's main export was whores. Some of them wore gold bras and purple loin cloths; others wore nothing but the chain around their necks. Ventress approached the bar. A service droid stood behind it.  
"What's your poison?" asked the programmed voice.  
"I need questions answered" Ventress told the droid. "Where can I find bounty hunters!" the droid looked into the corner.  
"There!" Ventress turned and saw several shadowy figures in the corner. She approached them. There was very little light here, she could make out the thin woman with green skin sitting in front of her, but that was about it.  
"What you want darlin'?" asked a voice, it sounded like it was in the corner, so that is where Ventress looked.  
"I need to assistance of bounty hunters" Ventress told the voice.  
"That so?" replied the voice. "And why would a pretty young thing like you need bounty hunters?"  
"I desire vengeance!"  
"That so? Boyfriend cheat on ya or somethin'?"  
"My former master tried to murder me with a droid trained in lightsaber combat!" she told them. The voice said nothing; Ventress assumed he was trying to take in what she just said to him.  
"I knew it was her!" said the voice of a young man.  
"Boss?" said the first voice.  
"She's Asajj Ventress!" said the young man's voice. "Count Dooku put a price of half a million credits on her head!" Ventress could hear weapons being drawn. Ventress' lightsaber flew into her hand and the red blade emerged from it.  
"There's a fight goin' on over there!" yelled a husky voice. A shot fired at Ventress, she blocked it quickly, reflecting the blaster shot back and killing the man behind the first voice. The green skinned woman drew a blade and swiped at Ventress but Ventress dodged the attack and killed the woman. A larger figure emerged and Ventress could tell that this was a Wookie she avoided a swing from it's giant fist and sliced off it's arm. The Wookie fell back in pain and she finished it off by stabbing it in the chest.  
"They weren't very good bounty hunters were they?" Ventress laughed and she used the force to remove all the smoke from the room to get a clear view of her attackers. There was a large man in strange body armour dead in the corner, the green skinned woman on the floor and a boy, near the end of his teens sitting in the other corner. His hair was rather long and shaggy. His face resembled that of a clone trooper. He wore custom Mandalorian armour with a green and red colour scheme. He was pointing a blaster at Ventress.  
"A child?" Ventress laughed.  
"I am not a child!" argued the young man. "I am Boba Fett! And you just killed my friends!"  
"Stop!" yelled a loud voice in the Huttese language. Ventress turned around to see the notorious Jabba the Hutt, with his Twi'lek Major-domo Bib Fortuna beside him.  
"You have impressed the great Jabba the Hutt!" said Fortuna, with clear reluctance on his pale face. "But unfortunately you have slain a group of Bounty Hunters which he had hired!"  
"My apologies!" Ventress replied, but she did not care.  
"You are to take their place!" Fortuna told her. "And fulfil my master's job!"  
"And if I don't?" Ventress asked. The Hutt raised his tattooed right hand. Ventress was sure that every single person in the cantina drew a blaster and pointed it at her. She looked around the room and grinned. "Looks like I have little choice!"  
"You will be paid five-"  
"I do not want credits, I want help!" Ventress informed him. She looked to Jabba. "You have connections with some of the best bounty hunters and mercenaries in the galaxy. If I do your job I want you to assemble a team of them for me as well as transport!" the Hutt pondered the proposition for a moment.  
"Very well!" Jabba answered.  
"The mighty Jabba says-" Bib Fortuna began.  
"I know what he said!" Ventress said impatiently.  
"And what about me?" said the voice of Boba Fett, Ventress looked at him.  
"This was a group effort initially" Bib Fortuna said. "Please come with us!" his master slithered into a private room and the three of them followed. The room was large and carpeted; the Hutt placed himself on a throne. A Twi'lek appropriately dressed for her position approached Boba and Ventress with a tray of drinks, Ventress shooed her away.  
"What's the job?" Boba asked the Hutt.  
"Forgive the secrecy. It is just your target has spies everywhere" Fortuna told them, he closed the door, a blaster in hand. He turned and shot the Twi'lek woman. She collapsed onto the ground with a surprised expression on her beautiful green face. "She was an example!" he approached Jabba's throne. "Your target is a Neimoidian named Gilramos Libkath" he pushed a button on a panel beside the throne and a picture of a thin, important looking Neimoidian stood before them. He looked as smug and as cowardly as any Neimoidian which Ventress had encountered before. And it sickened her. "He has taken refuge in a fortress supplied to him by his former Trade Federation allies. It is closely guarded by battle droids and mercenaries! It is located in the Dune Sea. The first of you to bring his hat back here will get whatever he or she desires!" he smiled a very weak smile.  
"Alright!" Ventress said.  
"Let the games begin!" Boba said with a smug grin. Jabba chuckled.


	3. Chapter 3 The Job

Part 3- The Job

The job seemed simple enough. Sneak into a fortress and kill the Neimoidian inside. Jabba had provided Ventress with transport which would take her out to the Dune Sea. She changed her outfit. She now wore a tight leather outfit, with a belt across her chest and waist. She also wore a brown headdress in an attempt to disguise herself and to shed her Separatist identity.  
"Why doesn't Jabba send his own goons out to deal with this man?" she asked the Skiff driver. "One Neimoidian surly isn't that much of a problem"  
"He has" the man answered. "They never came back!" the Skiff came to a stop a short distance from a large metal fortress. "This is far as I can go, without giving away our position!" Ventress hopped off the Skiff.  
"A bit of advice, try getting a key card. That Neimoidian changes his security on an almost daily business. You get a card and you're in!" Ventress nodded.  
"Thank you for the advice" she told him with what was almost a smile. Her lightsaber was gripped firmly in her hand. She entered a small hut. There were some guards inside.  
"Hello there!" said one of them to her as she entered. "Looks like the boss has sent us some fun boys!" his fellow guards laughed. Ventress sniggered. She waved her thin hand and said.  
"Perhaps you should give me the key card into the fortress" she said with a sweet voice and polite smile.  
"Of course" the guard said with a grin. He reached into his pocket and handed her the key card. His fellow guards looked at him with looks of disbelief on their ugly faces.  
"She's a Jedi!" gasped one of them, glaring at her lightsaber hilt. He rushed to take out his blaster but Ventress was quicker and she used the force to throw him into the wall.  
"Kill them!" she muttered, sliding a blaster into his hand. The guard under her control spun around and shot dead his companions (they all set down their guns to enjoy a card game). She used the force to crush the controlled guard's throat. 'That was easier than expected' she thought to herself. The guard she threw towards the wall made a pathetic noise. She approached him.  
"I'll tell them you're coming!" he groaned. Ventress went down on her knees, smiled at the guard and then drove her saber through his stomach. He gasped one final breath and fell limply onto Ventress. She threw him off and left the hut.

There was a large rusty looking door which lead into the fortress. Outside it was a battalion of Neimoidian guards and a few battle droids. A frail Neimoidian in a sand coloured robe stood beside the door, checking the cards of those who were entering the fortress. Ventress approached him, holding out the card.  
"You look familiar, Ms-" he began. Just now she noticed that her headdress was almost off.  
"Talbot!" Ventress said quickly. "And you do not need to know my first name!"  
"Very well" he examined the card, which seemed to be more like an invitation to a key card. "This all checks out" he said. He raised his arm and the door began to slowly open. "Master Libkath will see you inside!"  
"Thank you!" Ventress said with a false grin. She entered the fortress and the door shut behind her.

She entered the well kept fortress which seemed like a mansion. The floor and walls were dazzlingly white; they did not appear to even be lived in. Cameras on several of the walls observed Ventress as she entered.  
"Welcome Ms Ventress!" said a sly and surprisingly deep Neimoidian voice. "Another bounty hunter fallen right into my trap!" he laughed. "Do you really think those fools were really guards I would have hired?" Ventress looked around at the cameras. "Jabba sent you didn't he?"  
"Yes he did you Neimoidian slime!" Ventress growled. Gilramos laughed.  
"So sorry, but I cannot stay, I have a ship waiting for me!" he laughed once more. "Kill her!" panels on the wall opened and droids began marching towards her.  
"I have heard that phrase far too much this week!" Ventress groaned to herself as the droids drew closer, their blasters all aimed at her. In seconds her lightsaber was drawn and ignited and the sounds of gun fire filled the air. She blocked most of the attacks successfully but there were too many droids. Something then rolled in between her feet, it was a thermal detonator! Ventress performed an impressive back flip and avoided the explosion, which blew a hole in the ceiling of the fortress. The smoke cleared and Boba Fett stood among the rubble of the droids, again his blaster was aimed at her.  
"Still think I am not experienced?" he asked with a grin on his arrogant face.  
"Anyone can throw a grenade!" Ventress told him. She turned away from him and proceeded to walk down the corridor. Quickly she spun round and blocked a blaster shot from Fett. "And only cowards harm their opponents when their back is turned!" she force pushed the boy back and proceeded into the next room. On a chair sat a thin MagnaGuard, it's gleaming steel was draped in a white cloak like all the other models. Ventress moved past the guard and to the door behind it. The door was locked and Ventress noticed something, a scanner. She showed it her key card.  
"Access denied! Intruder alert!" exclaimed the robotic computer voice. The MagnaGuard rose from the chair, it's battle staff in it's hand, glowering with purple electricity at each end. It approached her with the staff spinning quickly in it's hand. She began blocking the strikes which followed, and ducked when appropriate. She noticed something odd about this MagnaGuard. Where all the others she seen had red lights on their chests, this one had a green one. The guard shoved the staff into her stomach sending a surge of energy through her body and forcing her to the ground. It laughed a twisted mechanical laugh. She slashed at it's leg but it blocked the attack with ease. She stood up and began to engage it in combat once more. She fought for it briefly before the droid started slowing down, not too much, but enough for Ventress to see an opportunity when it should appear. She did just that. There was a brief moment when the green light was not protected by the whirling staff and in that moment she used the force to pull the green light out of the droid, and pushed the droid back into the wall. She held the light to the scanner.  
"Access granted!" said the scanner. Ventress passed through the door and was now in a hanger bay.  
"This way my lord!" said a Neimoidian voice. Ventress knew her luck had not yet run out. The Neimoidian in the sand coloured robe appeared, followed by one in a long expensive purple robe. On his head he wore a large black velvet hat. He saw Ventress and gasped.  
"No!" he exclaimed. "H-how?" he took out a blaster and shot at Ventress, she jumped out of the way to avoid the shots. Libkath ran towards his ship, Ventress held up her hand and used the force (with difficulty) to destroy the right wing of the ship. He gasped and fired more shots at Ventress which she dodged with ease. It was clear to her that Libkath was not a military man. The door to the hanger opened and Boba entered the room.  
"No, this cannot be! I will not-" Libkath began, but was quickly silenced by a blast from Boba, sending the Neimoidian flying through the air. He fell to the ground and his hat rolled off, a shocked expression on his dead face. The other Neimoidian ran away.  
"I'll just be taking the hat and leaving then!" Boba said and he hopped down to where Libkath lay. He picked up the hat and to his surprise Ventress was standing behind him.  
"I don't think so!" she smiled and her blade penetrated Fett's young body. The boy looked at her and he fell off the blade onto the ground, he was still alive, but gravely wounded.  
"You…bitch!" he coughed. She picked up the hat.  
"Business is business kid" Ventress told him. He groaned and held the burning wound. Ventress saw a speeder bike nearby she got on it and left the fortress.

She arrived in the cantina sometime later. Bib Fortuna greeted her and escorted her into the private room, Jabba was waiting for her.  
"You have returned!" he said, clearly pleased.  
"I have!" she told him. She threw the hat to the foot of Jabba's thrown, he let out a hearty laugh.  
"Good, good! I knew you had potential!" Jabba clapped his fat hands together. "You shall get what you desire!"  
"Thank you!" Ventress said with a courteous bow.  
"Return here tomorrow and you will have the troops you desire for your mission of revenge!" the Hutt licked his lips. "Fortuna! Show our friend out!" Bib Fortuna showed her out of the room.  
"What about Fett? Is he dead?" Fortuna asked.  
"No, but I believe his pride has been greatly damaged!" Ventress told him. "If you ask me it's a good thing"  
"Why is that?"  
"Never mind, just send some men to Libkath's fortress to collect him. Goodbye Mr Fortuna" she began to walk away. "Until tomorrow!" she smiled. It was happening soon, she was going to get her revenge.


	4. Chapter 4 The Final Conflict

Part 4- The Final Conflict

The night was a long one as Asajj Ventress did not sleep. The day had come where she would strike against Count Dooku for what he had done to her. A spy had come to her and told her that he was currently situated in his palace on his home planet of Serenno. She had spent the night coming up with how she would infiltrate the palace. She concluded that the troops provided by Jabba would simply be used to take out his defences while she made her way to his throne room where their training sessions had once taken place. Those days indeed seemed so long ago. Her lightsaber lay on the table beside the bed. She lifted it and examined it. She remembered when Dooku had given her those two precious sabers. How happy she was to finally have a purpose after her former master's death and her fall from the Jedi order. She finally had a master again, she had, a friend. But he took that away from her. He used her and once he believed he had found someone better than her, he tossed her aside without a care. She held the lightsaber close to her chest. It felt cold. She knew this was the weapon she was going to plunge into Dooku's heart. She set the saber down. The two suns were rising in the distance and Ventress began to put on her newly acquired leather armour.

Her warriors were waiting for her outside the cantina with a strange looking man; his hair was black with a white stripe. His name was Bildo Kwerve.  
"Ms Ventress! The great and powerful Jabba has sent me to inform you that these are the mercenaries who will be helping you!" he gestured to the group of roughly twenty.  
"I guessed that" Ventress said impatiently. "Anything else?"  
"Yes!" Kwerve exclaimed. "Your ship awaits you in the Mos Eisley space port!"  
"How surprising" they stood in silence for a moment. "Go" she ordered. Kwerve walked off. She walked to the direction of the Mos Eisley space port with her hired goons.

Dooku sat on his throne in the grand throne room of his palace. General Grievous entered the chamber and bowed before Dooku.  
"My master!" he said.  
"Yes?" Dooku asked curiously.  
"Gilramos Libkath is dead sir" he told the Count.  
"He did not deserve to live!"  
"I agree, my lord, but there were security cameras showing, your old apprentice!" Grievous clearly did not want Dooku to have this information but also knew it was for the best that he had it. Dooku leaned back on his throne.  
"Then perhaps you will have the chance to redeem your past failures Grievous" he said to the droid General. "Avenge your failure in the arena and claim your completed prize!" he gestured at the lightsaber which once belonged to Ventress on the Droid's belt.  
"I will do what I can my master!" the droid general bowed and left the throne room.

The ship landed down on the landing platform and Ventress and her squad emerged from it. She turned to a man in brown metal armour and a headdress.  
"You will lead the squad into the palace through the main entrance" she told him.  
"And what about you?" he asked angrily.  
"There is a small ventilation shaft which leads to Dooku's throne room!" she explained.  
"So what we're live bait?" asked the mercenary.  
"I prefer distraction!" Ventress told him. The mercenary groaned.  
"Fine!" he grunted.  
"Inform the others of the plan!"  
"Plan?" the mercenary repeated. "We are storming into the palace like barbarians! This is not a plan!" she handed him a large pouch.  
"This contains thermal detonators; use them whenever you find it appropriate!" Ventress told him and she walked off in the direction of the entrance to the ventilation shaft.

Dengar observed the detonators he had just be handed by that crazy dark Jedi. He approached his fellow goons.  
"We're goin' in the front!" he told them.  
"What?" said a strange droid. "But surly that is suicide!"  
"The 'boss' says we're here for distraction!"  
"Screw her!" growled a reptilian bounty hunter.  
"Look, if she don't get her job done, we don't get paid! Now come on!" he walked with the mercenaries to the large front gate.  
"I've got this!" said the strange droid, he pointed his arm (which Dengar only now noticed was a rocket launcher) and blew the large double door off it's hinges.  
"Nice work!" Dengar said coughing. "You sure know how to be a distraction!" the smoke cleared and Dengar saw another weird looking battle droid. This one wore a cloak and resembled a metallic version of a Kaleesh Dengar had fought once. At either side of him was a MagnaGuard.  
"Where is Ventress?" demanded the droid in the centre. The mercenaries pointed their variety of guns at him. The droid laughed. "I have no time for this!" he turned to one of the MagnaGuards. "Deal with them!" the droid marched back into the palace and the guards activated their staffs. One jumped into the air and the other charged at the reptilian bounty hunter. The one in the air came crashing down into the ground, slamming it's staff into it, knocking several mercenaries back, a few of them fell off the bridge to their deaths. Dengar curled a fist and punched the closest guard in the face. Breaking one of its eyes. It began to swing the staff, hitting a small Twi'lek. Dengar fell to the ground and rolled closer to the doorway. He pointed his blaster at the guard and shot it in the head. It fell to the ground. The reptile ripped off the other one's head with one of his three fingered hands. Now there was only a handful of the original team left.  
"More for us I suppose!" Dengar said as he observed his team.

The vents were larger than Ventress had expected, she had a clear view of much of the rooms when the vents overlooked them so she knew she'd find the throne room (which she was sure Dooku was in) soon enough. She heard a strange banging behind her, then a saber being turned on. Suddenly a flash of green went through the vent she was in, sending it and Ventress crashing to the ground. Ventress rolled out of the wreckage and looked up to see Grievous. A clawed foot attached to the vent. He fell down and landed on his feet.  
"I hoped we'd meet again" he said to her. Ventress' eyes saw the gleaming hilt of her second saber on Grievous' belt. She held out her hand and her saber returned to her. Grievous brought two sabers of his own down onto Ventress; she blocked them with her sabers and managed to kick Grievous back, allowing her to stand. He swung his sabers and ended up getting them stuck in the wall, Ventress began to move back. Grievous pulled out the sabers and began walking towards her, swinging his sabers furiously as he approached. He was becoming more and more difficult to block, it seems in the short time that Ventress was gone, Grievous had grown stronger. She reached into her pocket and removed her own thermal detonator. She used the force to push Grievous back and then threw the detonator into the room and left. The explosion destroyed most of the wall and sent the door crashing through another wall. It was safe to assume that Grievous did not survive. She ran down the long corridor and moved through two double doors. She had made it to the throne room, and there was Dooku, sitting casually on his throne.  
"Asajj! You've returned!" he said calmly.  
"I've come to finish this Dooku!" Ventress said angrily, holding her sabers tighter than ever. Dooku did not do anything.  
"I commend your valiant efforts, recruiting a band of henchmen to try and distract my forces while you would sneak into my palace and attack me head on!" Dooku smiled. "You acted as though I did not know you Asajj! As if I had not taught you!"  
"Why did you betray me?" Ventress asked him.  
"My Master willed it!" Dooku answered.  
"I forgot! You are just another puppet for the Sith!" Dooku grinned again and raised his hand. Ventress readied herself. But she was not strong enough to resist begin force pushed into the wall. She cried out as he crashed into the wall. Dooku stood up from his throne. He lifted several objects around him with the force and began throwing them at her. She moved quickly and sliced through most of the objects and avoided the rest until she got to Dooku. He kicked her back and she toppled down the stairs which led to the throne.  
"You were never prepared to face me!" Dooku laughed. Lighting came from his finger tips and began to shock Ventress; she screamed and dropped her sabers a shot was fired, breaking Dooku's concentration. Ventress looked up and saw the man she placed in charge of the Mercenaries.  
"Sorry Count, but I can't let you do that!" he said with a grin. "Five hundred thousand credits is a lot of money!" Dooku sighed and pressed a button on his throne. Two droidekas rolled out from another section of the room and began blasting at the mercenaries. This distraction gave Ventress enough time to regain her strength. She looked up and used the force to push Dooku out the circular window above his throne, onto the platform outside. Ventress jumped through the now smashed window and landed on the grey balcony, Dooku was standing, waiting.  
"Well played my young friend! You are indeed skilled in the force!" he drew his curved lightsaber. "But there is only one true way to decide this!" the crimson saber emerged from the hilt and Dooku took to his usual battle stance which Ventress remembered from her training. She threw a saber at him and he blocked it, while distracted she ran at him and tried to slice his stomach, but he blocked her attack easily. She caught her second saber and began engaging the Sith in battle.  
"You are weak Ventress!" he taunted. "You do not possibly have the skills to slay me!" he blocked every move with so much elegance that it appeared as though he did not even care about this battle.  
"You underestimate what I am capable of!" Ventress growled.  
"No my dear! You overestimate yourself!" Dooku sent her crashing into the door of the throne room and she knocked into the platform where the throne rested, breaking one of her ribs. She could hear her allies fighting the droidekas. Dooku was walking towards her. She let go of one of her lightsabers and used the force to raise the smashed glass from the window she'd thrown Dooku through only moments ago. She used force push to send the glass flying towards Dooku. He blocked it as best he could but sharp pieces of broken glass got through. Cutting at his skin and tearing his cloak. He held up his hand and Ventress could hear something braking. The platform was about to crush her. She caught it with difficulty and threw it back at Dooku; it crashed into him and knocked him down. Ventress was now tired, her stamina draining. She walked, with a slight limp towards Dooku who was lying on the ground; he appeared to be gravely injured.  
"I told you!" Ventress wheezed. "I am more powerful than you!" Dooku laughed.  
"You insolent little girl" he coughed. He stood up. "You will never defeat me!" he sent her back with she went over the edge of the platform. She barely managed to hold on. She heard Dooku laugh as she tried to pull herself up.  
"You were becoming stronger yes!" he said with clear admiration is his voice. "But you cared too much for your former master to ever truly be considered Sith!" Ventress forced herself up and jumped through the air. She landed down in front of Dooku, they were both covered in wounds and their clothing was torn. Neither of them was going to last much longer. She made a few feeble attempts to strike against Dooku and again he needed little effort to block them. She realised now that in her training, he was always holding back, as he anticipated this moment.  
"Before I took you in you were taught by a weak minded fool!" Dooku told her, he sounded as though he had regained some of his strength.  
"Master Narec was a better man than you will ever be!" she yelled. She began crashing down hard on Dooku's saber with her own, her rage controlling her, she broke through his defence and he fell to the ground. She screamed and raised him up into the air and began to choke him with her force choke. The moment had finally come! Dooku would be dead soon, she would have had her revenge and could leave this war behind her. Dooku fell to the ground hard. Ventress gasped. She looked down to see the green saber blade through her body. It was pulled out of her and she stumbled back. Her lightsaber fell and she collapsed onto her knees. She looked up and saw the droid general. He body was now charred and damaged; half of his helmet was missing revealing the dark skinned remains of his former Kaleesh self.  
"You should have finished me when you had the chance!" Grievous laughed and he approached Ventress his sabers now back on his belt. He looked down at her tear filled eyes and in a matter of seconds he'd broken her neck. Ventress' limp body fell to the ground. Grievous approached his master and helped him up.  
"She was strong!" Dooku coughed. "But at heart she would always have remained a Jedi!" he looked at Grievous. "Claim your reward!" Grievous happily marched towards Ventress' body and picked up her lightsaber.  
"What about her?" Grievous asked Dooku.  
"Burn her remains!" he said. "Rid the galaxy of her memory!"

Dengar used the final thermal detonator to destroy the last remaining droideka. It was only himself and the reptile left. He looked out to where he saw Ventress fighting and saw the Kaleesh like droid standing over her dead body. He was filled with grief as well as disappointment.  
"We have to get out of here!" he told his fellow bounty hunter. "She's dead!" they both ran out of the throne room and returned to the ship. They said nothing to each other and took off leaving Serenno and Asajj Ventress behind to become nothing more than a name lost in the impact of a war which would spawn the First Galactic Empire!


End file.
